HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/05/1979 Study Session • 394 STUDY SESSION - BUDGET REVIEW
December 5, 1979
The City Council met in session on this date at 1 :00 P.M. in the Council
Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington; Mayor Betty L. Edmondson
presiding, Council members Henry Beauchamp, Lynn Buchanan, Don Hinman,
Nadine Lee and Frank ,Roberts present on roll call. Councilman- Gordon
Wonder absent.
LEGAL - •
,Fred Andrews ; .City Attorney, presented the budget for the Legal
Department. He stated that his Department is divided, into. divisions -
Criminal and Civil, and explained the various functions of each divi-
sion. He- stated that there aren't any capital expenditures, proposed for
Department , in 1980.. He reported that- there aren't any funds bud-
- geted for professional services, which is,used to 'hire special legal
counsel and , hiring : court reporters etc. He - sttated that: the funds to
cover professional services will cone from the Contingency Fund. Mr.
Andrews explained, his Department's travel budget -for 1980, stating that
• two, years, ago a State , law came in ,effect that all attorneys practicing
law must attend a minimum of 15, accredited hours of seminars. He stated
that his budget is 7% less_than last year_for overhead,, office _supplies,
etc. Mr. Andrews stated that Council, previously approved $30,500 to pay
for indigent - defense; fees. City Manager Zais discussed the court filing
fee and fine system.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
City Manager -Zais - reported that he had . requested an interpretation from
Legal regarding the $25,000 needed for insurance. and, maintenance -.for the
Capitol Theatre. He stated that following a change in the room tax law,
-it is naa permissible to'pay that obligation using roam tax funds. It
was MDVED by Lee, seconded by Beauchamp to fund the Capitol Theatre
insurance and maintenance fees from roan tax funds: carried, Beauchamp,
Buchanan, Edmondson, Hinman, Iee and Roberts voting aye by voice vote.
Wonder absent. City Manager Zais_ stated that $5,400 for the Department
of Emergency Services was overlooked and was not budgeted as an inter-
governmental item. He stated that this was previously budgeted in the
Police Department's budget, but should be in the intergovernmental
budget.
CITY COUNCIL
City Manager Zais reported that this budget is less than last years
because the position of Canmunity Relations Officer has - been deleted.
He reported that there was a slight increase in the dues for the
Association of Washington Cities. He also stated that one quarter of a
Department Assistant. III position has been budgeted in the Mayor's
Office to assist with clerical work . He reported that $3500 has been
budgeted for travel expenses.
CITY MANAGEMENT
City Manager Zais stated that the budget for this division is up about
7% between 1979 and 1980. He stated that this year, his vehicle is
slated to be replaced. He requested a vehicle allowance, using current
maintenance and operating rates of $110 per month. He stated that $8100
was budgeted to replace the vehicle, which is ten years old and has
about 90,000 miles on it. Councilman Roberts expressed concern that the
$110 monthly allowance may not be sufficient to cover his vehicle
expenses.
Larry Wittenberg, Assistant City Manager, reviewed the duties of his
office. He stated he has direct reponsibility over the City Clerk/
Records, Personnel, Purchasing, and Information System Divisions. He
stated he does negotiations between the City and the three Unions. He
reviewed the personnel chart for these divisions and stated that there
has been a 6% cut in budget for the four divisions. He stated that cuts
in these divisions are difficult to make because they are labor inten-
sive and provides information and materials to other departments.
CITY CLERK /RECORDS
Iris Litzenberger, City Clerk, reviewed the chart of personnel staffing
for this division. She stated that in 1980, the business licenses will
be transferred to Code Administration. She stated that the Department
Assistant III position will be retained, however, one quarter of her
time will be budgeted to the City Council. She spoke about the function
of her office and about the increased details of Council related work.
She reviewed the process that a contract follows before it is approved
by Council and the follow -up work required once it has been approved.
. .
STUDY SESSION - BUDGET REVIEW 395
December 5, 1979
PERSONNEL
Reviewing the budget for the Personnel Division, Bob Weaver, Personnel
Officer, explained that the large increase in his budget was due to the
addition of the Affirmative Action Specialist in his division. Mr.
Weaver explained the examinations given to the applicants and the need
to upgrade the exams so that they became more valid. City Manager Zais
outlined the procedures for recruiting department and division heads.
Mr. Weaver. stated that his division plans to begin charging fees for
certain services, which will require Council action. He itemized some
of those charges as being for postage to notify applicants of exam
placements, xerox copies and the cost of printing of exams the City
rents. He stated that a petty cash fund would be needed if these fees
are Charged. --He also reported that in 1980, the various departments
will be charged the recruitment costs for filling a vacancy in that
department. He reviewed the personnel Changes in his division for the
years 1977 through 1980 proposed. Mr. Weaver stated that although there
is no law that requires the City to have a Personnel Office, there are
legal requirements that the City must follow. He requested a Department
Assistant III which would be shared with Purchasing, which would cost
approximately $13,500. Councilman Roberts inquired about the cost of
using Gibbons for handling unemployment costs for people separated from
the City. Art Zerbach, Director of Finance & Budget, reported that the
' services from Gibbons cost the City 3 per $100 of payroll or approx-
imately $2400 per year. Mayor Edmondson requested that staff Check to
see how many times Gibbons was used last year. Councilman Roberts
expressed concern About requesting applicants to pay a fee for the exam.
PURCHASING
Jean Shipman, Purchasing Agent, reported that Purchasing was centralized
in 1977 and all purchasing goes through the division in one form or
another. She spoke about the legal requirements of the bid law. Refer-
ing to a flow Chart, she explained the bid process. Several Council
members expressed concern about the low figure in the bid law -- $2000
for materials or ,labor requires a bid and a $5000 limit to public works
projects before having to go out for bids. Ms. Shipman reported that
Yakima County has a $3500 limit prior to requiring going out for bid.
She stated that if the supplies cost less than $2000 but is aver $50,
Purchasing obtains three quotes on that item. Ms. Shipman spoke about
the advantages and disadvantages of the State contracts, stating she
does utilize quite a few of them. She reported that the Purchasing
Division has a storeroom of general office supplies with a $15,000
inventory. Speaking about the City Hall budget, Ms. Shipman stated she
requested that the part-time Custodian position be made full-time,
however that request has already been cut from the budget. She stated
that overtime is being spent to have same custodial work done.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Tom Froula, Information Systems Manager, stated that under Information
Systems is the Copy Center, Ward Processing and Data Processing. He
explained the joint use of the Computer which is located in the Court-
house and stated that a different method for use of the Computer is
under consideration. The County would purchase the City's interest in
the Computer and then provide the service to City on a contract
basis. The County would provide approximately 1.5 years of free service
to the City in exchange for purchasing the City's assets in the Cam-
/ puter. Refering to the proposed reduction of a Data Entry Operator I
position, Mr. Froula reported that the work performed by this Division
would suffer as this Division has already spent $3500 on overtime. He
stated that one of the Data Entry Operators is also trained as a backup
for the operation of the offset printing machine and that backup will
have to be eliminated.
Assistant City Manager Wittenberg stated that there aren't a lot of
options and there will be a lot of crisis management. He also stated
that when there is a personnel reduction, the same level of service
can't be expected.
There being no further information o business to come before the Coun-
cil, the meeting was adjourned at e our of 6:10 P.M.
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